Background: The Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance Club in North Berwick is golf's official warm-up act before The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next week. Almost every top player in the world is teeing it up which means the field this week is stronger than most regular PGA Tour events, and the coastal links conditions at Renaissance will give everyone a taste of what's coming.

What happened: Scottie Scheffler enters the week as the favourite at +600, followed by Rory McIlroy at +1000 and Jon Rahm at +1600. Chris Gotterup who won this event last year and won the John Deere Classic last week for his third win of 2026 comes in at +2700. Nobody is talking about him enough. Wyndham Clark, the reigning US Open champion, also sits at +2700 despite never finishing worse than T25 in five previous Scottish Open appearances. Both represent outstanding value against the big three.

What else: The model to watch which has correctly called 17 golf majors is fading Rahm hard this week. His Scottish Open record is poor, he missed the cut at Shinnecock, and the links conditions at Renaissance historically don't suit his game. Meanwhile the same model is backing a 40-1 longshot that hasn't been named publicly. Min Woo Lee at +4000 is the Australian worth keeping an eye on he's played links golf his entire career, his ball-striking is elite, and he's long overdue a result on Scottish soil.

What's the key learning?

Background: Harris English is a five-time PGA Tour winner ranked 29th in the world. His caddie, Eric Larson, has been on the bag for nine years through wins, through slumps, through everything. Larson is 65 years old and served 10 years in prison for offences committed over 30 years ago. He was released in 2006 and has rebuilt his life entirely since.

What happened: For the second straight year, Larson has been denied entry to the UK ahead of the Scottish Open and The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. UK Electronic Travel Authorisation rules allow authorities to block entry for anyone with convictions carrying a possible 12-month sentence regardless of how long ago they occurred. Larson hired a lawyer, applied earlier than last year, paid to have it expedited, and still found out just one day before his flight that he'd been refused again. English found out the same day.

What else: English contacted the US Ambassador to the UK. The PGA Tour and the R&A both got involved last year. None of it helped. Two replacement caddies have been arranged Geno Bonnalie for Scotland, Ramon Bescansa for Birkdale. Neither is the man English trusts most on a links course in unpredictable wind with a major on the line. English put it simply: "He's still being punished for something he did a long time ago. He paid his price."

What's the key learning?